The basic geodatabase structure

A geodatabase has three primary components—feature classes, feature datasets, and nonspatial tables. All three components are created and managed in ArcCatalog.

·   A feature class is a collection of features that share the same geometry type (point, line, or polygon) and spatial reference.

·   A feature dataset is a collection of feature classes. All the feature classes in a feature dataset must have the same spatial reference.

·   A nonspatial table contains attribute data that can be associated with feature classes.

 

Example geodatabase with a feature dataset, feature classes, and nonspatial table

 

A geodatabase can contain feature classes, feature datasets, and tables of nonspatial data.